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The incident involving Roy Johnson, age 35, took place in Dutchess County at the Courtyard by Marriott in the town of Poughkeepsie on Sunday, Oct. 2.
Dutchess County District Attorney, William V. Grady said Johnson was arraigned on Wednesday, Dec. 14, and charged under a superseding indictment with:
- Murder
- Two counts of criminal possession of a weapon
- Attempted murder
The murder charge is for the death of Suffolk County resident Paul Kutz, age 53, of East Northport, Grady said.
The attempted murder charge is for attempting to cause the death of a hotel employee in the lobby area, he added.
“This superseding indictment is a product of additional evidence that was developed subsequent to the initial Grand Jury presentation into the tragedy that occurred at the Courtyard Marriott on October 2, 2022," Grady said.
During the bizarre crime, Johnson armed with a loaded Glock which had been outfitted with a fixed pin to make it fully automatic entered the lobby area cursing and yelling, according to court documents.
The documents, released Tuesday, Oct. 11, by Grady's office, also say that while pacing near the barista bar, Johnson was dressed in an Army-green jacket, green boxer-type shorts, and a black balaclava over his head and face.
Johnson then approached the front desk clerk and attempted to make his way around it. The clerk put his arm out to stop him. He then turned around and walked toward the table seating area near the front door, took out the Glock, and shot Kutz, who was in the area, the documents say.
Kutz was shot in the right side of his chest under his right armpit. The bullet hit the right top lobe of his liver, the part of both lungs, as well as his aorta, and then fractured a rib before exiting out his back, the documents show.
While Kutz lay dying, Johnson continued to fire the Glock inside the lobby, including at the hotel employee, before going outside and firing some 22 rounds in the parking lot and in the entranceway to the hotel.
He then removed his jacket and head covering and left an electronic detector device in the parking lot and put the magazine from the gun and the Glock on the top of a black BMW SUV in the parking lot and walked back into the lobby where he was taken into custody by responding officers.
Johnson, who is being held without bail, faces 50 years to life in prison if convicted of the crimes.
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